maximaracer28

I don't know why but it seems like all of a sudden it took me twice as much gas to get somewhere I drive everyday as opposed to before...and the car felt a little slower as well? I have a 2k2 and just hit 24k, anyone have any ideas? I just got a recall letter for the crank sensor which is getting done hopefully end of this week but don't think that has anything to do with it?

Thanks

Zero Deuce SE

Is it much colder than usual in your area lately?

03maximan

Check your gas mileage at next fillup. Have you repalced air filter yet? The recall i got done before any symptoms showed up, not sure if what you're experiencing is related or not.

Zero Deuce SE

I have about the same mileage on my 2k2 and have not replaced the air filter yet. I have had the engine sensor recall performed and it did not change anything in the performance of my car. The recall was more of a safety issue with the possiblity of stalling the engine while driving on the highway.

maximaracer28

yea it got a lot colder over night basically, from spring temp to all of a sudden cold winter again...i dunno it may just be me, and yes i did change my air filter already...and oil change just 1k ago or so

03maximan

I don't think cold air has anything to do with it, could be a bad tank of gas maybe? Winter gas sucks anyway. Charliekilo3: how many miles on original filter?

darbowmach1

Um, i guess driving habits would be a factor. Lets face it, we got 255hp in a larger v6, just be damn glad everyone's gettin over 20k (ive owned a 69 Mach 1- 8mpg, 94 Trans Am- 17mpg and 98 Mustang Cobra- 19mpg)

kklier

hmmm, I've noticed it too...But two things have changed...its been much colder here lately and the car has been sitting more...15.5k, same air filter, and have not done the recall yet

pdc001

I think cold air has something to do with bad gas mileage. Since the air is colder, the air is denser (heavier), the more air the engine gets, the more gas it delivers too. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

bigdo26

iTrader: (3)

cold air makes it run very rich when its first started, combined with it taking longer to warm up, that means you get crappy mileage. Just wait till it warms up a lil, mileage will go up. Or go for a 50+ mile drive, you'll get mileage that is back to normal. Short (under 15 miles) drives in this cold weather ruin mileage

trey

Wow, don't you think its time to change the air filter yet? I thought changing it at 15k would be about right.

03maximan

Mine was filthy at 15K. And bigdo is 100% correct post # 10.

bigdo26

iTrader: (3)

oh and get a K&N, then ya can just clean it out. Works great too

BTW its nice learning about stuff here at college that I can apply to my car interest (like the running rich thing, along with god knows what else) I'm beginnin to feel like a guru hahaha

PeteusMaximus

iTrader: (5)

I only got 300 miles of my last tank. I thought it was the cold weather but when i went to put some air in the tires my fronts were only at 24 psi. Oops forgot to check them after I rotated them.

Zero Deuce SE

I have about 23950+. I will change it when it is dirty enough to change.

Zero Deuce SE

I will change it when it becomes dirty enough to change. Mileage does not always tell you when to replace an air filter.It has more to do with the quality of the air where you drive your car. In dusty climates, more changes.

Maxceler8

I have been consistently getting about 19mi per gallon since well...since I bought it new in May. I know it can do better because I recall getting 22-24mpg during break in period. I'm sure alot has to do with manner driven, but honestly, I don't travel on freeway really that much at all. No peelouts at every traffic light....etc. I have a 37 mile drive to work about 4-5 times a week on a 55mph divided highway (usually driving 65-68mph depending on time). I usually let my car warm up for a few minutes, but in the morning sometimes will let it warm up until the temp needles moves off of C. (I did not know that it was not ideal to do this, however don't like just driving it off right after startup). Mildly aggressive driving style, and it's an auto. Now I know it's not a Prius, and has a sizeable V6, but I did expect at least equal mpg to my old 4 cyl auto that usually averaged at least 24mpg (and that had a 14gal tank!). Basically, I'm just wondering if anyone else gets these kind of figures regularly? It's not a huge deal to me, but I use 93 oct. all the time, and getting about 300 miles to the tank....well......makes me feel Hope I'm not the only one?

Y2KSilvahSE

I've had my 2k SE for almost 4 years now, and usually (summertime) get close to 400 miles a tank, but in the winter that goes way down to about 330 a tank...and usually I'm hitting 1/4 of a tank left around 300 miles. It's also an auto, and my driving style is normal, with maybe 2 to 4 runs up to 95 or 100 but just normal driving on the highway otherwise. I'm 90 percent convinced that its a combo of cold temps (been 0 to 20 degrees in the morning here for weeks) and longer warm up times. The absolute longest warmup time I ever give it is 3 to 4 minutes, no longer is needed...and I have heard the manual only recommends 30 seconds but I go about 1 to 2 minutes usually, and drive real slow keeping the rpm under 2 k for a couple miles, then drive easy for another 10 min until warmed up. Also, I have heard the winter gas mixture up here in the north is different, so that contributes also. I'd say with warmer temps, a clean air filter and not booting it off every red light, you'll be back to normal mileage in the spring...At least thats what I have experienced the last 4 years. Not much we can do about it I guess, but I'd cut down on the long warmups if you can drive easy for a couple miles when you start out from home.

housecor

iTrader: (2)

You might also consider changing your the fuel filter. While there is no suggested maintenance schedule for it, many on the org have found their very dirty. http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=276627

Maxceler8

Hmm....I do usually baby it until it's fully warmed but I'll try not to let it sit so long and idle, hope that might help a bit. Guess I should try and avoid dipping in the gas more than necessary too too bad it's soo fun.....
Thanks for the help, will keep those in mind

Ferbs02SMMax

I've given up trying to get good gas mileage. If I get 300 miles to the tank, I'm happy. I dropped in some BG 44K, and it helped temporarily, but then the bad weather came in, and I am only getting 280 to the tank. The BG 44K, I'm more happy of the performance gains, car idles smoother, runs cooler. But back to the gas, I calculated my last tank, and I'm getting 18mpg. Atrocious!

3300lbs car + 245hp V6 + My lead foot +Winter gas/Winter weather = Crappy fuel economy.


Somebody give me a trophy for figuring that one out

Hopefully this Summer I can go back to 3xx mile between tanks of gas.

Fernando

tonyg

I remeber reading that those MPG figures are at a temp of around 72 F.
Your winter mileage will be around 10-15% less than the stated MPG from the manufacturer.

kklier

According to Chevron there can be as much as a 20% decrease in fuel efficiency.

http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuel.../fuel_economy/

I didn't know that.

bigdo26

iTrader: (3)

i know in CT they just stopped using the MTBE (is that right) fuel additive and swapped for something that I cant remember the name of. Anyways, the new additive reduces mileage by at least 2%, possibly more. Not sure if this is nation wide tho

MONTE 01&97 SE

iTrader: (1)

The 3.5's are fuel hungry engines( at least for a V6) cars I have to deal with 2 of them and they are thirsty, especially in the cold weather. Plus we have 2 lead feet! Guys over at th3 350Z forums and G35 forums are saying the same thing!

NYC TAR

iTrader: (2)

I notice in NYC they put these new sickers saying 10% Ethanol (in mobil, bp,generic). once they put these sticker, my gas mileage went down hill.

bigdo26

iTrader: (3)

Ethanol! that was the word I was thinking of. Thats the new additive that is supposed to bring down mileage

max2kSE

if your gas mileage dropped Drastically then i would check your O2 sensors.

Topview01

Same thing happened to me about 2 weeks ago. All of a sudden, gas milege was in the "tank" so to speak. Yesterday my SES light came on, and presto went to my local mechanic because I am out of warranty and it was an Oxygen Sensor. Mechanic told me, chances are the fuel air mixture would have been all messed up. Funny thing is, I never noticed any performance difference.

My money says the "service engine soon" light comes on any day now,

Good luck

jreddington3

I've got an '03 SE with the six speed manual. I've always been happy with my mileage and get a solid 28 mpg on the highway. Yeah in winter it has gone down a little bit but I think that has more to do with pushing through slop and not air temperature. On a recent run up from NJ I got 29 mpg when the temperature was in the low teens but the roads were dry. I've got about 25,000 miles on it. I figured not bad since that's just about what my '92 Maxima SE got and this car's got way more guts.

My girlfriend liked my car so much she bought one, an '02 GLE with 30,000 miles. She likes the softer ride of the GLE. Coincidentally, it's Majestic Blue like mine. Here's where it gets interesting. Since she bought the car she's been getting between 20 and 21 mpg. Her commute is to North Haven and is about 1/2 mile city, 40 miles highway, and then about 1 mile city. Her general highway speed is about 5 mph less than mine and I think I'm a little more agressive in accelleration. With her long commute this poor mileage is really bugging her and stealing her pleasure of owning the car. This is tough after getting about 32 mpg in her '95 four-cylinder, manual Mazda 626.

I've checked all the usual suspects, tire pressure, air cleaner. Have used Techron fuel injector cleaner but haven't yet tried BG44K.

This has really gotten me into the dog house. When she was considering the car I told her that with an automatic she couldn't get my 28 mpg. My best guess was about 25 mpg, about a 10% decrease in mileage. But 20 mpg?!. That's about 28% poorer than my manual. That doesn't seem right. There's no Check Engine light but something seems to be wrong except it sounds like, from this thread, others are experiencing the same thing.

We've got to bring both cars in for the Crank Sensor Recall. Doesn't sound like a likely culprit since from descriptions, when that goes you really know it and there's a Check Engine light. We will note the poor mileage with her car and see if there is something wrong. Want to catch anything before it goes out of warrantee soon.

MaxVader

OK I have noticed the Dorp in gas Milage too as well as some other friends of mine who don't drive maximas. There is defintly somthing going on besides just the winter air.

DallasFan

[QUOTE=jreddington3]I've got an '03 SE with the six speed manual. I've always been happy with my mileage and get a solid 28 mpg on the highway. Yeah in winter it has gone down a little bit but I think that has more to do with pushing through slop and not air temperature. On a recent run up from NJ I got 29 mpg when the temperature was in the low teens but the roads were dry. I've got about 25,000 miles on it. I figured not bad since that's just about what my '92 Maxima SE got and this car's got way more guts.

My girlfriend liked my car so much she bought one, an '02 GLE with 30,000 miles. She likes the softer ride of the GLE. Coincidentally, it's Majestic Blue like mine. Here's where it gets interesting. Since she bought the car she's been getting between 20 and 21 mpg. Her commute is to North Haven and is about 1/2 mile city, 40 miles highway, and then about 1 mile city. Her general highway speed is about 5 mph less than mine and I think I'm a little more agressive in accelleration. With her long commute this poor mileage is really bugging her and stealing her pleasure of owning the car. This is tough after getting about 32 mpg in her '95 four-cylinder, manual Mazda 626.[QUOTE]



So what's your average hwy speed? If I got open road ahead of me I usually drive 80 mph. I drive about 300 miles a week back and forth from work and usuallly get 318 miles on a tank with the majority of the time spent on the hwy and I'm getting between 20-21 mpg. I'm wondering if driving 80 mph for a bit causes this poor gas mileage.

jreddington3

DallasFan

I'd say my average highway cruising speed is between 70 and 72 mph. Back here in the congested East I rarely feel comfortable running faster than that and I know if I started pushing 80 mph I'd be looking at some tickets. My girlfriend usually runs between 65-70.

Running 80 mph is certainly going to drop your mileage. Air resistance goes up the square of velocity so at 80 vs. 70 you're looking at about 30% more wind resistance so that difference in mileage is not out of the ballpark.

On another thread in this forum there's a discussion of a member who brought his Maxima to Germany and is running it on the autobahn. He's looking for a way to operate his cruise control past the 90 mph limit designed into that system. He also has problems using the wipers at 100+ mph. (Someone posted a reply asking why would you be running 100+ mph in the rain.) I don't even want to think what his mileage is (although there they caluculate it in liters consumption per 100 km). And at $5+ a gallon that's a lot of gas money no matter which currency you use.

DallasFan

Thank jreddington3. I think I'll try and slow it down a bit. With gas prices these days it makes sense besides I'll wind up getting a ticket right!

Zero Deuce SE

Do you think the wind resistance factors more into fuel consumption than the engines demand for more fuel to go 80 vs 70? If you have an aerodynamic car, the wind is routed up and over as well as underneath. Not the same thing as driving a cabover tractor trailer w/o aerodynamics. They have to push a lot of air aside to travel on the highways.

NYCe MaXiMa

iTrader: (9)

on 27 dollars of gas @ $2.00/gal, i get like 210 miles driving around NYC in stop and go..

this is on my 2000 5spd




i think the sudden decrease in gas milage has a lot to do with the new winter gas that they use in the northern states.. very ****ty economy.. they mix it with methanol or something else and it burns faster... but the price of gas is still high and going up

Zero Deuce SE

[QUOTE=NYCe MaXiMa]on 27 dollars of gas @ $2.00/gal, i get like 210 miles driving around NYC in stop and go..

this is on my 2000 5spd QUOTE]
OUCH!!

jreddington3

It doesn't really matter what you're driving whether it's an aerodynamic Honda Impact or Toyota Prius, or a slab sided Winnebago, the ratio stays realtively the same. It's just that the Impact or Prius will get say, 50 mpg at 55 mph but mid 30's at 70 mph, while the Winnebago will get 10 mpg at 55 mph and 6 mpg at 70 mph.

These aren't actual numbers and there are other things that come into play such as tire rolling resistance, driveline losses, drag due to crosswinds, etc. However, there's no way around it, you go faster, your drag increases. The engine then consumes more fuel per mile to overcome this drag.

In fact, the Prius (or is it the Civic hybrid, I forget) has official EPA mileage numbers with the City mileage HIGHER than highway mileage. This is in large part due to the fact that the average speed in the city test cycle is lower than in the highway cycle. In all other traditional cars the city mileage is lower because energy lost during braking overcomes the energy savings by going slower. In the Prius regenerative braking recaptures that energy by pumping it back into the battery. This lets the low speed energy savings become evident in the test results.

If you have a trip computer, try it yourself. Reset the computer mpg and mph and make a good 40+ mile run at 55 mph (Yeah, I know, this is gonna hurt). Jot down the mpg and average mph. Then reset and make the same run at 70 mph or whatever you like. Make sure it's a relatively calm day because a 10 mph wind adds effectively 10 mph of drag in one direction and subracts it in the other. That 20 mph difference can have a significant impact on the outcome. If you live in Kansas or somewhere where the roads are pretty straight and flat for 80+ miles just reset and change your speed halfway through the trip. No cheating by drafting behind an 18 wheeler.

Compare the readings and I'll bet you'll be surprised at the difference in mileage.

MaxVader

I roll 70-80 all the time and I just noticed somthing. I filled up at Kroger wit 93 and at 1/2 tank I was at 155 miles, gas light came on at 306 miles. NOW this week I filled up at SAM's wit 93 and at 1/2 tank I was at 190 miles. Can any one explain this. same driving habbits 70-80 even 90 at times. I seriously think they have done something with the gas additives or what ever!!

Zero Deuce SE

Sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo. You can't compare a hybrid with a gas powered vehicle. A Winnebago has a flat front on it and will always get low mileage whereas a Corvette is sleek and gets 20+ mpg using a V8 engine. You could have the wind behind you and your vehicle will still require more fuel to travel a faster speed. It's not rocket science to know that a faster engine speed requires more fuel. The trip computer is not reliable IMHO.